Merino School students honored the men and women who have served this country and learned about the Revolutionary War at the school's eighth annual Veterans Day Celebration on Thursday.

The celebration started with a lunch for area veterans, followed by a program that was organized by the school's Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) officers.

After the posting of the colors and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, elementary students, under the direction of Carrie Mann, performed the "National Anthem," as well as a tribute to the veterans, "Thank You For Your Service."

"We celebrate Veterans Day to honor the soldiers of this great nation, of past and present, that have fought for our freedom, that have given their blood, sweat and tears to hold true to this great nation and the Constitution," CTSO officer Zachary Karg said.

Merino Elementary students perform "Thank You For Your Service," under the direction of Carrie Mann, during the school's annual Veterans Day Celebration. (Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

He then introduced guest speakers Steve DeBoer and George Smith, of the Sons of the American Revolution. DeBoer commended the students and school for taking the time to honor veterans, something not enough schools do.

"It's critical, it's important to remember the people that served you and the generations," he said.

DeBoer noted there were about 800,000 military age men that lived in colonies during the Revolutionary War period, about 230,000 served in the Continental Army and 170,000 were in militias, meaning about 30 to 40 percent of Americans served during the war. During that period of time one out of every 20 Americans died "to make this a free country and guarantee your rights," he said.

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Since then, over 6 million servicemen went overseas during World War I, almost 17 million served during World War II, almost 6 million served in the Korean War, almost 9 million served in the Vietnam War and 2.5 million have served since that time in the conflicts in the middle east.

Currently, there are one million men and women serving in the armed forces and 150,000 of those individuals are downrange, "these are people that are in danger and they're protecting you every day, all day and all night. These people are out there for you, keeping this country safe and they're making sure it's a nice place to live for you," DeBoer told students.

Merino High School CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organizations) officers are joined by the Sons of the American Revolution as they post the colors at the start of the school's Veterans Day Celebration. (Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

He encouraged students, if they happen to come upon a veteran, to thank them for their service, something that doesn't occur nearly often enough.

"Thank them for their sacrifice, they've done a lot for you, given up years of their lives to do it, in some cases they've given up arms, legs, mental capabilities or given their lives," DeBoer said to the students.

He spoke about being invited to an ETT (Embedded Training Team) homecoming. There were eight men on stage that parachuted one at a time into the mountains of Afghanistan and never saw another American for over a year, unless they ran into one of the Special Forces. All of them had Purple Hearts, three had Silver Stars, four had Bronze Stars and they had more fire fights than other units of the Special Forces.

Steve DeBoer, of the Sons of the American Revolution, speaks about the importance of thanking veterans during Merino School's annual Veterans Day Celebration. (Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

What struck DeBoer during that presentation was that the servicemen included a insurance salesman, a hardware store employee, a plumber, a teacher - they came from all walks of life.

"So, please if you see these guys or any other veterans, thank them for what they've done for us," he told the students.

DeBoer and Smith also spoke about the French and Indian War; what led up to the American Revolutionary War and its cause; how the war was won; people such as Crispus Attucks, an African American man killed during the Boston Massacre; and legislation including the 1773 Tea Act, the 1765 Stamp Act, the 1766 Declaratory Act, the ratification of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 and the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

George Smith, of the Sons of the American Revolution, talks with Merino School students as they look over artifacts from the American Revolution period following the school's annual Veterans Day Celebration. (Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Plus, they showed weapons the military used to fight, the uniforms they wore and other artifacts from the Revolutionary War Period.

"Veterans played a huge part throughout history, saving us time and time again, and other people, no one has done more for complete strangers in other countries than our service men and women. These are people to respect," DeBoer told students.

The celebration ended with the students singing "Happy Birthday" to veteran Dale Hurst and a giving a round of applause for all the veterans in attendance.

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